The Things We Never Thought
by LittleSpoby2199
Summary: Everything was fitting perfectly into their lives, until tragedy strikes and they have to live with the pain for the next eight years. But what happens when the problem they were trying to solve for so long was right under their noses? And what happens when their past tormentor comes back from hiding to play another game, but this time, with the answer they've been longing for?


**Hey ladies and gents! Well, I don't really know how I came up with this, but I was lying in bed, staring up at my ceiling and... yeah, my brain somehow came up with this. Okay, that's a lie. I was watching _August Rush_ and it really got to me, but it won't really be like that movie. Just one part of it. Now, I am aware that there IS a story ****_kind of_**** similar to this one, but trust me, it's going to be the opposite of that story.**

**I know the story probably won't make sense at first, but it will later. Now, on and away with the story! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own PLL, Spoby, or any of those characters (though I wouldn't mind if Toby/Keegan was mine ;-)), but I DO own any additional characters.**

**_Chapter 1: 'Cause You Won't Let Go_**

* * *

_Before you give up, think about the reasons why you held on for so long._

* * *

_He looked up._

_What he saw was a colorful sky - pink, yellow, purple, and orange - and what he heard were the waves crashing onto the shore. He looked over to his left and smiled down at the figure next to him who looked up at the older man with his resembling electric eyes. They looked towards the ocean and watched some seagulls flying over the water - squawking now and then. _

_"Dwaddy?" asked the younger boy._

_"Hmm?" the older man asked._

_"Wh-why are we heaw?" _

_"To watch the sun set."_

_"Whewe dwoes da sun go when we cwan't swee it?"_

_"Well," the man began. "It goes down and disappears behind the horizon until the next day."_

_The little boy laughed. "Dat's my name!"_

_"Yeah. You were named after that."_

_"How do you say you name, Dwaddy?" _

_"Toby," he said._

_"And Mommy's?"_

_"Spencer."_

_Toby smiled as his son nodded. "You hwave fwunny names."_

_He laughed. "Not like yours. Now _that's _a funny name. Funny, but unique."_

_"What's unwique?" he asked._

_"It means special. No one else that I know has your name," Toby explained._

_"So I'm spwecial?" he asked with wide eyes._

_"Yup and - wait, look," Toby said and pointed towards the sun. "The sun is setting."_

_"It's pwetty," the younger boy commented and watched in awe as the sun set._

_There was a moment of silence as Toby and his son watched the sun set behind the ocean and the night grew dark. The azure-eyed boy looked up at the sky and smiled as he turned to his father._

_"Fwind da staw?" he asked._

_Toby grinned. "First one."_

_Both of their eyes darted up towards the sky and searched frantically for the first star in sight. He gasped and pointed to one._

_"I win!" _

_The older man laughed. "Dang, I think I need glasses."_

_His son laughed. "You fwunny!"_

_It was pretty much moments like these that Toby lived for with his son; just spending time together and do what they wanted without a care in the world. Suddenly, he felt something leaning onto his shoulder and when he looked, he saw that the young boy had fallen asleep on it. He smiled and then picked him up and walked them to the tan truck that he had cherished for the past ten years and the many more to come._

* * *

But that was eight years ago. Things back then were... _different_. More _complete_.

So as Toby walked down the streets of Rosewood, he spotted the old paper hanging on The Brew's window and sighed. He ripped it off and threw it into the trash can. There wasn't any point in having it up there. It had already been eight years and the problem still wasn't solved. Toby ran a hand down his face and kept walking until he spotted the two familiar brunettes. His smile made a cameo as the little girl ran towards him and he caught her in his arms.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, Arrayah!" Toby said and kissed his daughter's cheek.

He set her down and looked at the other brunette that was playing with her earring. She looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Hey."

"Hey," he said back. "How are you?"

She shrugged. "I'm good."

"Great. I'm glad you're good," he replied awkwardly.

"Yeah... okay, um, I have errands to run, so Arrayah is gonna stay with you for a few hours, okay?"

"Spencer, we've done this a million times. Besides, I _am _her dad, so I know what I'm doing," Toby said in a 'duh' tone.

"Yeah, and I'm you're ex-girlfriend..." Spencer muttered to herself, but Toby heard and rolled his eyes. "Anyways, see'ya."

"Yeah, bye," Toby said with a fake smile as she walked away. "Drama queen."

"I heard that!" Spencer called over her shoulder.

He threw his hands up and shook his head. "Whatever!"

Spencer groaned and then hopped into her car and drove away. Arrayah looked up at her father with the same azure eyes and tugged on his leather jacket. Toby bent down to her level and smiled.

"Daddy?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you and Mommy get along?"

Toby pursed his lips into a straight line and sighed. "There are a lot of reasons why Mommy and I don't get along that you just wouldn't... understand."

"Reasons like you moving out of the house?" Arrayah questioned.

He nodded. "Yeah. Reasons like me moving out."

She hugged him. "I miss you."

"I know, sweetie. I know," he said softly.

They separated and Toby took her smaller hand into his. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Arrayah tapped her chin dimple. "Can we go to Allen's Workshop?"

"Sure, now c'mere!" Toby said and hoisted her up onto his shoulders, causing her to squeal.

He walked them down the streets - occasionally greeting some of his friends on the way - and towards Allen's Workshop which was only three blocks from The Brew. Arrayah rested her chin on his head and spotted another one of _those _posters. Toby noticed and turned his head and saw it. They both smiled sadly before continuing their walk and made it into the workshop.

Allen's Workshop was probably the best place anyone could go to if they were having a bad day or if they wanted some fun. The interior of the shop was very... "wood-like". The whole place looked like a two-story cabin from the outside and inside it did too, but in a lighter shade of brown. The shelves were a sandy-color and had carvings on the side of animals, people, tools, and you name it. When you looked up, there was a big chandelier in the center of the ceiling and you could see the stairs and wooden railings for the second floor. On the first floor, there were just tools for carpentry and anything construction related. But the second floor is where the store got it's name - upstairs, there were tools and supplies for small workshop stations for children and adults alike. You didn't have to pay to use the supplies, you just built whatever you wanted to.

Once Toby set Arrayah onto the floor, she darted towards the stairs and up towards the actual workshop. Toby chuckled and went over to some of the carpentry tools to see of he could find some supplies for work. As he was walking and looking at the tools at the same time, he bumped into someone.

"Sorry," the figure said and then walked away.

Toby frowned as he studied the figure - they were wearing skater shoes, jeans, a plain shirt, and a jacket with a leather one over it - all of which were black. The hoodie that was with the jacket was thrown over their head, so Toby couldn't make out the face. He decided to shrug it off, but he couldn't help but feel some sort of eerie tension with that person. He shook his head and continued his search for some tools when he saw the familiar tanned swimmer.

"Hey Em," he said with a grin.

"Hey Tobes," Emily said and gave him a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good, what about you? How's Danby going?" he asked her as they walked down the aisle together.

"I'm doing good. Danby's going great, but I still miss Noel since he's at Stanford," the brunette explained.

"Hey, it'll be fine. Doesn't he come home in two weeks?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, luckily. I've missed him."

_At least he's coming home... _Toby thought and then winked at her. "You've missed him or the _action_?"

Emily gasped and slapped his arm. "Oh my God! Toby! What has Hanna done to you?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to see how it feels like to say something like that. It's weird. How does she always talk like that?"

"She's Hanna; you can't really blame her."

"That's reasonable," he said and they continued to walk.

**_Meanwhile Upstairs..._**

"Ugh," the little girl groaned as she stood up on her tiptoes. She sighed in defeat and crossed her arms. "Dang it. I can't reach."

She decided to try again, but this time, she grabbed one of the small tables - unaware that one of the legs were on the verge of breaking off soon - and stood up on it. She went up on her tiptoes again and grunted as her fingers brushed against the art kit. Her feet came off the table as she jumped for a better reach, but just as her hand was about to grab it, the leg broke and she found herself falling with some of the supplies coming right after her. Suddenly, a figure appeared and caught her before she fell, set her down and caught the rest of the falling supplies with quick movements. They placed them back to their respectful places and kneeled down to her level.

"Are you okay?" they asked.

She nodded. "Thank you for saving me."

"No problem. What's your name?"

"Arrayah," she said with a smile that showed off her dimples.

The figure went silent for a moment before answering. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Arrayah."

"Nice to meet you too, mister!" she said and squinted. She couldn't make out their face since they were concealed by a black hood. "I mean, I think you're a _mister_..."

They laughed a deep laugh. "I don't think I can tell you that."

Her blue hues went wide. "You're a durl?!"

"A _what_?" they asked with another laugh.

"A durl - its a dude and a girl!" Arrayah explained. "You won't tell me if you're a dude or a girl, so I'm thinking you _might_ be a durl."

"Well, I can assure you I'm not."

Arrayah - being an eight year old - let her eyes wander to a _certain _area and squinted to see if there was anything. Since they were crouching, it was hard to tell, but the person noticed and coughed awkwardly. She sighed before a few more questions popped up.

"On another note, why are you wearing all black? And why are you hiding your face? It's not like I'm going to know you," she said quickly.

They shrugged. "I like black."

She pressed her lips together into a straight line and narrowed her eyes at them. "Mmm hmm. Interesting."

"You're an interesting child," they said. "Are you always like this with strangers?"

"Well, Mommy and Daddy told me to be nice to everyone and know their... m-mo... mot... ives? Motives! Yeah, and just general information."

"I'm sure they do," they guessed and patted her head before standing up.

Arrayah looked up at them and raised her eyebrows. "For the love of Oreos! You're tall!"

They shrugged again. "My parents were pretty tall, so... yeah, I guess."

"My parents are too, but I'm tiny."

She could see the outline of their lips curling upwards. "Tiny, but smart."

Arrayah beamed. "Well, it was nice meeting you, durl!"

They laughed again and began to walk away. "Nice meeting you too, Arrayah. See'ya around. Bye."

"Okay! Bye!" she called and soon, they were gone.

* * *

Toby and Arrayah walked hand-in-hand down the streets of Rosewood and towards The Brew. Arrayah hadn't told him yet about the mysterious person - knowing he'd be a little uncomfortable with it - and kept it to herself. They entered The Brew and ordered their usual before sitting down at a table.

"Daddy?" she said quietly.

"Hmm?" Toby hummed and looked up at her.

"Do you still have hope?"

It was a question he always pondered to himself. _Was there any hope_? He knew he couldn't just let go even though Spencer already had. It was just too hard for him to let his small family go. They were his everything... well, in this case after everything that had happened, Spencer didn't count as his _everything_ anymore. If anyone knew Toby Cavanaugh well enough, they knew he wouldn't be loosing hope anytime sooner.

"Of course I do," he answered, at last.

Arrayah looked at him with sad blue eyes. "But it's been really long..."

"Hey," he said softly and grabbed her small hand in his. "We'll figure this out together. Okay? Because there is no way in my life, that I'll give up hope. 'Cause I'm not letting go."

She smiled. "Really?"

"_Really_."

"Okay," she said with a small smile and munched on her cookie and sipped her hot chocolate.

Toby felt someone tap his shoulder and when he turned his head, a pair of lips crashed down onto his. He kissed back and when he pulled away, he smiled at the familiar face. "Hey CeCe."

"Hey Toby," she said and took a seat next to him and then looked at Arrayah. "Hi Arrayah."

"Hi," she said plainly with an emotionless expression. Well, Arrayah wasn't very fond of CeCe _at all_.

"Okay then," CeCe breathed and then turned back to the blue-eyed man. "So, babe, do you want to go see a movie at my place, today?"

"I-" before Toby could answer, the younger girl interrupted.

"He _can't_ because he's taking care of me for the _whole_ day," Arrayah said curtly and put more emphasis on the word '_whole_'.

"Yeah, I can't today, I'm sorry," Toby apologized.

"Can't Spencer take care of her for the rest of the day? Please?" she asked.

"Mommy's working until twelve today. Understand?" Arrayah explained.

"Ray..." Toby warned, but she just rolled her eyes. "How about tomorrow?"

"He can't-" she began, but Toby sent her a glare. "Whatever."

"Yeah, sure," CeCe said with a smile and then leaned close to his ear and whispered something, which caused his face to turn red. Arrayah caught the key words and grimaced before starting to fake gag.

"Ew, bleh... get a room," she said in a disgusted voice.

Toby breathed in a shaky sigh before covering his face with his hands. "Oh God... why did your mother teach you about _that_?"

She shrugged. "She's mommy."

"Are you sure Spencer should be telling her this stuff? It's highly inappropriate. If I were her mother-"

"Which you're _not_, but please continue," Arrayah said with a fake toothless grin.

"-I wouldn't be teaching her that yet until she's older."

Arrayah set her jaw and melodramatically rolled her eyes again and sighed loudly. "What in the name of Spongebob is wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?" CeCe asked.

"Nothing..." she singsonged and looked away.

"Whatever. But really, I don't see how you allow her to do that."

"Well, we don't live in the same house, so we don't have any control over each other anymore. That's it," Toby explained.

"All right," she said.

"Daddy? Can we go upstairs? I wanna play Scrabble. Please?" Arrayah asked and held the 'please' for a long time.

"Okay, we'll all go," CeCe said and began her way up.

"Never mind, I don't wanna play," she mumbled and rested her forehead on the table.

Deciding that it wasn't worth it, CeCe sighed and then looked at her watch. "Oh, actually, I need to get going. My boss wants to talk to me about work and stuff, so I'll see you tomorrow?"

Toby nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, CeCe."

"Bye sweetie," she said and kissed him in front of the blue-eyed girl.

Arrayah looked up at the ceiling and sent a silent prayer that this lady would just get hit by a car already. Toby pulled away from the kiss and waved to her. "Bye."

CeCe walked out of The Brew and Arrayah sighed in relief. "Finally," she muttered under her breath.

Toby glared at her. "Ray, why can't you just get along with her?"

"Because I don't like her, she's trouble, Daddy," she said.

"Okay, I get that you think that, but can you at _least_ try? For me?" he asked.

She thought for a moment before exhaling loudly. "Fine. But only for you. Not her."

"Thank you," he said with a small smile and sipped his coffee. "How's school going?"

"Good," she answered with a smile, but Toby could see a hint of sadness in her blue eyes and gave her a '_what's-really-going-on?_' look.

Arrayah sighed and rested her chin on her palms. "Everyone at school keeps asking me about what really happened and when I tell them I don't know, they still ask. Every time they ask, I get painful memories and I want to cry because I don't know whether or not if it will be solved in the end."

Toby could see the tears building up in her eyes, so he gestured her to come over to him and she sat down in his lap. He held her tightly and cradled her head against his chest as her tiny body shook - her sobs muffled against his shirt - and he let a few silent tears fall from his eyes. They were never the ones to cry in public, but after what happened eight years ago, they definitely had a reason to. After calming down, Arrayah wiped the tears off of Toby's cheeks and he did the same to her.

"Look," Toby said with a soft croak in his voice. "We're not giving up yet, okay? There are reasons why we held on for so long. Can you guess why?"

"Because there's still a chance," she answered quietly.

"Exactly. Because there's _still _a chance. Don't forget that, all right?"

She nodded and smiled. "All right."

* * *

**So... that was the very first installment to my new story. I know it seemed a bit confusing, but you'll understand this whole thing in a few more chapters ;-) I have A LOT of ideas planned and if I have to be honest, this is by far my favorite story I've thought of besides the other two new ones I'm planning on posting soon... also, I'll probably update in a few days with Spencer's side of this day and some other stuff that'll get this story going. **

**Anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter? Good? Bad? Eh? Leave your feedback in the comments, they make my day :-) **

**-E.V. **


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